The present invention provides an improved collection apparatus and system for picking up and bagging leaves and other similar items.
In many parts of the country, the Fall season brings great color and beauty to its inhabitants in the form of the changing leaf and foliage coloration. The Fall season, however, also has one distinct drawback. After the leaves go through their spectacular color cycle, they wither and die and fall to the ground. Where the trees are numerous and plentiful, as in the Eastern and Midwestern parts of the United States, the quantity of leaves which fall to the ground causes a considerable disposal problem.
Where the leaves can be raked or blown into piles and burned, the diposal problem is not that difficult. In many suburban or fire-preventative areas, however, regulations and laws prohibit the burning of leaves or other trash. These rules have developed for a variety of reasons; for example, some are designed to prevent the addition of pollutants into the air, while others are designed to prevent the start of forest or brush fires.
In the areas where leaves cannot be burned, other measures must be taken to dispose of the leaves. Often this involves a manual filling or stuffing of containers or plastic bags with the leaves in order to have them picked up and taken away by a trash pick-up or collector company, or have them dumped in a vacant field. It is very difficult and time consuming to pick up and stuff leaves into containers, such as plastic bags, however, and the repetitive process week after week in the Fall becomes a significant chore.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus and system for pickup and bagging of leaves. The invention utilizes known blower/vacuums and is adapted to deposit the leaves into bags and/or containers in a relatively quick and easy manner--at least more quickly and easily than known systems.
Various blower/vacuum devices are available on the market today for aiding in the collection and pickup of leaves. These products are small and sufficiently light in weight to be hand held and often are convertible to act as either leaf blowing or leaf vacuuming systems. The devices have an electrically operated or gasoline operated motor which turns an impeller or fan at high speeds producing a significant, concentrated wind force. When that wind force is directed at a group of leaves, for example through a nozzle or outlet, the power of the wind force blows the leaves in a desired direction. On the other hand, if the air inlet to the blower/vacuum device is opened up, leaves can be sucked into it and blown out through the air discharge nozzle. The passage of the leaves through the fan or impeller also usually breaks up or mulches the leaves allowing them to be compacted more easily into containers or bags.
Blower/vacuum devices of the type mentioned above are made, for example, by Allegretti & Company and Black & Decker Co. The Allegretti device is called "Vac-N-Sac" and one Black & Decker device is called "Gas Blower/Vac". A device of this type is also shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,163 which is assigned to Allegretti & Company. Typically, these devices offer as accessory attachments, nozzles which can be used for blowing and/or vacuuming up leaves and a small leaf collection bag. The bag is adapted to be attached to the discharge end of the blower/vacuum and collect mulched leaves which have been passed through the fan or impeller.
The leaf collection and bagging systems known today, and exemplified by the systems mentioned above, have several significant disadvantages. Most notably, the leaf collecting bag is too small and has to be emptied frequently. For large lawns and quantity of leaves, the bag is simply inadequate. Further, the contents of the bag has to be transferred by hand to larger containers or plastic bags which is also time consuming and difficult to accomplish cleanly and easily. Known blower/vacuum leaf collection bags also usually are adapted to hang from the user's shoulder and are bulky and awkward to handle.
The present invention has been designed to overcome the defects and disadvantages associated with and inherent in known leaf collecting systems. The present invention provides an improved leaf pick up and bagging system which allows the user to pick up and bag the collected leaves more easily and faster.
The invention generally comprises an accessory or attachment system which can be used with any of the known blower/vacuum devices. A long flexible and extendable tube is detachably secured at one end with a unique sleeve mechanism to the blower/vacuum and secured at the other end to a shroud or skirt. The shroud or skirt is adapted to fit over and be attached to the top of a large container, such as a trash can. Both the sleeve mechanism and shroud are attached to the flexible tube with quick-release fastening mechanisms, and shroud is adapted to be attached to the large container with a similar mechanism. With this system, leaves can be sucked up by the blower/vacuum and transferred to containers at one convenient centrally-located position. If desired, large plastic bags can be positioned inside the collection containers and the mulched leaves transferred directly into it. This can be done easily, quickly and without the typical problems of sagging sides and misdirected leaves when plastic bags are used.
The present invention has relatively few parts and the parts are relatively inexpensive. Further, the parts are also easily collapsed or folded for storage and transport. This means that the invention can be mass produced relatively inexpensively, sold at a reasonable price for use by most consumers, and adapted to be used and transported easily and quickly by the consumers.
Further objects, features, benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, especially when viewed in accordance with the accompanying drawings: